Narratives

Site Information

Reproduced below is
Austro-Hungarian Army Commander-in-Chief
Arz
von Straussenberg's official statement regarding the
opening of the great German Spring Offensive of 1918, dated 2 April 1918.
It essentially comprised a eulogy to the skill and determination of both the
German Army and of its leadership.

Sponsored Links

Opening on 21 March the
Spring Offensive was designed to knock the British and French out of the war
(possibly by the expedient of separating their forces and communication)
before sufficient U.S. forces could arrive in France to decisively tip the
scales in favour of the Allies.

The German Army made
enormous breakthrough gains against the British Fifth Army at the Somme and
indeed looked set to triumph over the Allies; with the aid of French
reserves however the German advance was finally halted in early April.

Freiherr von Arz on the
Opening of the Spring Offensive, 2 April 1918

Among other things, the
wound of our enemies in the west is so deep today that it can never heal
again.

I should be telling a lie
if I said that the latest German successes surprised me; of these victories
I was confident.

The splendid leadership of
the great masters of war, Hindenburg and Ludendorff, who have known their
own aim, the depth and thoroughness of the German mind, and the high moral
earnestness of the German soldiers were sufficient guarantee for success to
the onlooker acquainted with the circumstances.

The change from trench to
active warfare makes the superiority of the German Army appear still more
conspicuous. When the barbed-wire defences are left some miles behind,
and the manoeuvres take place in the open field, then the alertness and
experience of the non-commissioned officers, who have been trained by years
of instruction during peace, and our thoroughly trained General Staff get
their reward.

Millions of fighters can be
raised out of the soil, but it is not so easy to obtain even a fraction of
the necessary leaders of all ranks. The facts we must keep before us
when judging of the position on the western front. The German company
and battalion commanders are a hundred times better than the English, and in
that form an important guarantee of success.

The victorious and
confident feelings of the German troops had not suffered any change by
reason of the bad weather, the cold and rain which set in on March 27th.

Against the wet and cold
they were protected by the huge quantities of booty, consisting of coats,
jackets and canvas, which they had found, while the rich lots of foodstuffs,
which were found everywhere piled up in the British army depots, most
advantageously supplemented their own rations.

These unexpectedly large
supplies have enabled many of the troops to live completely on what they
find, so that their own supplies can be saved for a later period.